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β€Ή Kalimba songs
SongsRow, Row, Row Your Boat
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4 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the size or key brings some of them into reach.

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Traditional, published 1852. Public domain.

17 tines Β· C4–E6 Β· C major Β· The standard. Almost every tab you find is written for this.

Tap a tine, or drag across them for a glissando. On a keyboard the letters on the tines are the ones to press β€” they follow the tines left to right.

KalimbaFree Β· printable Β· plays in your browser

Row, Row, Row Your Boat β€” Kalimba Tabs

Row, Row, Row Your Boat, written out for the kalimba as number tabs with the letter under every note and set up above on the 17-key. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time β€” the kalimba waits for you β€” or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes27, 6 pitches
  • RangeC4–C5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo96 bpm Β· about 23 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a kalimba play Row, Row, Row Your Boat?

4 of the 5 here do. The check is made note by note against what each one can actually sound. Where the tune does not fit as the library writes it, another key or octave is tried, and the table says which; where nothing fits, it names the notes that are missing.

  • 7-noteβœ• Cannot play itNeeds C5, which it does not have
  • 8-keyβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–C5 Β· load it
  • 10-keyβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–C5 Β· load it
  • 17-keyβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–C5 Β· loaded above
  • 21-keyβœ“ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–C5 Β· load it

Row, Row, Row Your Boat: kalimba tabs

The large line is the number stamped on the tine; the small line under it is its letter name. A dash holds the note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and a dot beside a note makes it half as long again. Each line is one phrase.

β–Ά Play it above

Row, Row, Row Your Boat β€” kalimba tabs (17-key) Β· tonalics.com

The 6 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 6 and you can play the whole tune.

  • 1C4Γ—7
  • 2D4Γ—3
  • 3E4Γ—7
  • 4F4Γ—2
  • 5G4Γ—5
  • 1β€’C5Γ—3

What to expect on a kalimba

  • It runs from C4 to C5, an octave, using 6 different notes. Its lowest note is the lowest this instrument has, and 16 semitones of range are left above it.
  • 81% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, C4 to G4, at note 23.
  • The left thumb plays 8 notes and the right 12, with 7 on the centre tine. Once one thumb plays two different tines in a row β€” those are the spots to slow down for.
  • The furthest it reaches from the centre is the 4th tine out.

About the tune

An American round, in print by 1852; the tune sung today appeared in 1881 and is usually credited to Eliphalet Oram Lyte. It is written to be sung in up to four parts, each voice entering a line after the one before.

Traditional, published 1852. Public domain. More about Row, Row, Row Your Boat β†’

Row, Row, Row Your Boat on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng, which does not have the notes.

More songs for the kalimba

All 34 kalimba songs Β· Christmas songs for kalimba Β· The online kalimba on its own

Playing it on a real kalimba?

If it sounds wrong, check the instrument before the notes. The kalimba tuner listens through your microphone and names what each note is actually sounding.

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